TAKEAWAY customers in Tilehurst are getting an extra serving with their cod and chips – as traffic wardens batter them with parking tickets.

Fed-up customers are having to cough up more than the price of a fish supper when they stop to pick up their fried food at the Lemon Plaice in Norcot Road, recently declared the best fish and chip shop in Reading by the Evening Post’s food monthly experts.

The residents-only parking from 8pm to 8am outside the parade of shops was introduced in July last year but it did not come into force until this week.

However, according to Lemon Plaice owner Howard Player, there are only two or three “residents” living in the immediate vicinity of the parking restrictions and the rest of the premises are Chinese and Indian takeaways and an off-licence which all open after 8pm and a newsagent which opens before 8am.

Mr Player said: “We were notified about the parking restrictions and I suppose we just held our breath to see what would happen. In hindsight, we probably should have done something about it then.

“But it wasn’t enforced at all and then on Monday a couple of parking wardens came along after 8pm and started to write out tickets.”

Martin Salter, Reading West MP who is a regular customer at the Lemon Plaice was there at the time.

Mr Player said: “I wasn’t here but I understand Mr Salter was suddenly approached by a number of customers wanting to know what was going on.”

He conceded: “There has been a noticeable rise in trade since we appeared in the Evening Post. I hope that it isn’t someone in this area reporting the parking to the wardens, because that would be quite vindictive.”

Mr Salter has fired off a letter to Reading Borough Council in a bid to get the parking restrictions changed.

The chippy is in Tilehurst ward – which has three Liberal Democrat councillors – close to the border with Kentwood ward.

Kentwood Labour Councillor Richard McKenzie said: “The Lemon Plaice is one of Tilehurst’s favourite chippies and could go out of business if customers were unable to park nearby.

“I can only assume that the Tilehurst councillors were half asleep when this particular traffic order was sent to them for comment.”

Mr Salter’s letter to the council said: “It is clearly nonsense to expect a chip shop or hot food takeaway to close its doors at 8pm.

“My constituents are particularly fond of both these establishments but will not risk a £30 parking ticket, however fine the food is on offer.

“Furthermore, there are very few actual residents on this stretch of road who will be inconvenienced if the restrictions were to revert to the previous 30 minute waiting between 8am and 6.30pm with unlimited parking outside that period.

“After all, this is what is in place further down Norcot Road and it works perfectly well.”

Tilehurst councillor Peter Beard said: “We put our hands up to this.

“We should have noticed the problems sooner. I do remember being told about this but we did not realise the implications for the shops.”

He said there is a car park behind the shops, off Recreation Road, which everyone can use free of charge “if they were prepared to walk 60 metres”.

He said he had had complaints from people who had been given parking tickets. He has already taken up the matter with the traffic managers and reintroducing parking for 30 minutes was under consideration.

A spokesman for Reading Borough Council said the residents parking scheme was originally requested by locals with 90 per cent support in an informal consultation and no objections in a formal consultation in December 2005.

In the light of concerns, the council will look at modifying the scheme after another consultation.